Tottenham Hotspur Need to Learn from Another Late Escape in Swansea Win

Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed another late escape away from home with a 2-1 win over Swansea City on Sunday.

Though the win was deserved in some respects, there were also elements of Spurs' performance which brought to mind the old adage about insanity: You know, the one about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result (often attributed to Albert Einstein, perhaps erroneously according to Salon.com's Daniel D'Addario).

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In Tottenham's case it largely revolved around two areas, and it will be fascinating to see if the north Londoners can learn from them in the coming weeks.

The excellent Wilfried Bony wrought havoc in the Spurs defence, scoring Swansea's equaliser early in the second half after Harry Kane's fourth-minute opener from a Christian Eriksen corner.

Bony was nearly always on his toes in search of a yard of space. When he received the ball, his close control and turn of pace quickly led him to shooting opportunities.

Spurs helpfully made it even easier for the Swans striker to summon these qualities. Their centre-back pair, Federico Fazio and Jan Vertonghen, repeatedly either left Bony completely unattended or with too much space to operate in.

It should have become apparent that they needed to mark him tighter from one moment nine minutes in, a typically quick Swansea passing move that freed Bony behind them. It did not. The Ivorian would have scored a lot earlier had left-back Ben Davies not come across to make a superb sliding tackle.

The saving challenge by the ex-Swansea defender—which bore a passing resemblance to Spurs legend Ledley King's memorable stop on Arjen Robben in 2006—was lauded too by Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

Bony's eventual goal saw him once again get away from Fazio. The Argentinian blocked his first effort, but his initially loose positioning left him unable to regroup in time to stop the rebound.

Sticking with the Fazio-Vertonghen partnership has led to an improvement in Spurs' defending of late. The likelihood is they will come up against goal-hounds such as Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse and Burnley's Danny Ings in the coming week. They need to get back to defending in the dominant fashion they did in recent games with Everton and Crystal Palace so as not to give as much joy to them as they did to Bony.

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Swansea's strike was in part influenced by the other repeat issue which almost cost Spurs at the Liberty Stadium: the selection of Eriksen in left midfield. Wayne Routledge skipped past Davies on that flank and, with Vertonghen's attention also drawn, crossed to the relentless Bony. Eriksen was initially nearby but was partly engaged by another Swansea player.

The success of the Dane operating from the left wing in the Everton win certainly warranted trying him there again. Doing so allows Spurs to play two strikers, and he is still able to get involved. On Sunday, one such instance saw him combine with Roberto Soldado to tee up Kane for a shot he dragged just wide.

These moments occurred too rarely, though. 

With Routledge attacking his side, Eriksen was unsurprisingly required to pitch in defensively. The frequency with which the winger escaped down there shows it did not too work well (though he only connected with two of his nine crosses, per Squawka, but one was for the goal).

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Given the quality of Swansea's wing play (Jefferson Montero was a handful for Kyle Walker and Erik Lamela on the opposite side), Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino should have anticipated Eriksen's struggles here. The 22-year-old can pitch in with protection duty but is not sufficiently equipped to deal with defending such a focused point of attack.

There is an undeniable offensive initiative teams can call upon on home turf. The playmaker was always likely to be pegged back too much for him to impact the game going forward as much as he liked. For all the positives a front two can bring to a team attempting to hurt the opposition, it is not worth it for Spurs when it means Eriksen is unable to help them.

The difference when he came inside late in the game was immediately noticeable. Eriksen was involved as much as he had been all game. He had shots prior to scoring and was still in a good position when Davies set him up for his tremendously struck winner.

It also brings up another old adage: The best defence is a good offence. Getting Eriksen on the ball as often as possible will almost certainly help fellow attackers like Kane and Lamela. It should also help ensure the team's defence is not pulled and prodded too often.

The Christmas and New Year's period is in full swing. With fixtures coming thick and fast (forget adages, we're in cliche land now, folks), Tottenham have ample opportunity to prove they can adapt and grow.